


With You I'm Colorful

by TheMikeWheelers (jasongracefully)



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 07:31:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11778348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jasongracefully/pseuds/TheMikeWheelers
Summary: A soulmate AU where when you touch your soulmate, bright colors show up on their body where you touched them, but you and your soulmate can't see the colors-- only other people can.When Mike and El kiss, they can't exactly keep it a secret from the boys.





	With You I'm Colorful

“Mike, are you wearing lipstick?”

Mike had been having a pretty good day until he hard that. In fact, he'd been having an amazing day. But then Lucas just had to ask him that question that sent bolts of fear striking through his body.

"What? No!" He answered, his mind only racing. _Oh no. Oh no. They're going to find out what happened. El's lipstick must have worn off on me. They're gonna figure it out._

He wanted to keep it a secret for a reason. When El had kissed him earlier, he felt himself melt into a puddle of happiness right there on his basement floor. He was sure he'd be grinning like an idiot until the day he died because _El had kissed him!_

But then the initial shock wore away, and Mike cleaned up the puddle of himself on the floor, and he was struck with the realization that he didn't have a clue what to do next. He didn't know what this meant; he'd been skirting around his own feelings for months now, but that didn't mean El's feelings were the same. 

He didn't know what to say or how to react-- not that he had much of a chance. Dustin, Lucas, and Will had come storming down the basement steps before Mike could say anything, or react in any way other than stare at El with his eyes the size of Jupiter. 

"Are you sure?" Dustin piped up, "You have red stuff all over your mouth." 

Red stuff? El was only wearing a light pink lipstick, it wasn't from her. Mike furrowed his eyebrows and went to check in the bathroom mirror, though it confused him even more. He didn't see anything, there wasn't any red stuff on his lips, "Okay real funny. There's nothing there."

Lucas and Dustin turned towards each other, sharing a knowing look before Will spoke up, "I see it too."

Mike's eyes narrowed in confusion, while Lucas nudged Dustin snickering, "If I didn't know any better I'd say El left some lipstick on him."

Mike felt his face heat up, and elected to ignore the comment. Eleven, previously content with watching the conversation go down from her spot on the couch, perked her head up at the sound of her name. She didn't see anything red on Mike's lips either, but she didn't exactly feel like speaking up on the topic, especially after Mike had ignored her earlier...

"But El's wearing purple lipstick?" Dustin corrected him.

"Yeah, that's why I said 'If I didn't know any better'!" 

"But I'm not wearing purple lipstick." El spoke up, while Mike simultaneously added, "El isn't wearing purple lipstick."

The two blushed and looked down, refusing to meet each other's eyes, while Will looked between the two, "Wait, so neither of you see the purple on El?" Mike and El both shook their heads in unison, "Or the red on Mike?" They shook their heads again.

Will, Lucas, and Dustin turned to each other and burst out laughing. Mike looked towards El for explanation, but she refused to meet his eyes, and he felt his heart go heavy.

“So did you two finally kiss earlier?” Dustin asked with a smug grin.

Mike could feel his throat go dry. How did they get _that_ from just some invisible colors they apparently saw? Was he supposed to tell them the truth, and make it ten times more awkward, or just lie and get the embarrassment out of the way? He didn't get a chance to make up his mind, though, before El responded.

“Ask Mike,” She said sourly. 

He could feel his face heat up, the spotlight now directly on him, “Well, uh,” He started, but stopped before he could say anything. Colors. The boys saw colors he and El didn't see right where she had kissed him. The information clouded up his mind and made him unable to respond as he was hit with the realization of _exactly_ what those colors meant.

He turned towards Eleven, his eyes widening and filled with shock and fear and love all at once. _She_ was his soulmate? Sure, he’d been crushing on her for almost two years now, but that didn't change the fact that shock was filling his lungs and there wasn't any room leftover for air.

But El didn't return his expression. In fact, she didn't even turn towards him at all. She kept her eyes fixed on the floor, trying to tune out whatever Mike was about to say.

Mike had to do a double take at her expression, guilt flooding his veins in waves that made his whole body ache. El had been quieter than normal all day, ignoring him ever since she had kissed him, and he didn't say anything back. 

It's not like he had a chance to say anything back, the boys were running down the stairs within thirty seconds of when they pulled away. But then again, in those thirty seconds El was waiting for Mike to say or do anything, while he was just too shocked to respond at all.

“Uh, yeah. I kissed El before you guys came over.” Mike finally responded, silently praying he sounded confident, yet still blushing so much he felt like someone set his cheeks on fire. He looked over towards El once more, hoping she heard him say _he_ was the one who kissed _her_.

Her face remained blank, and she didn't turn to face him back, but Mike couldn't ignore the faint pink tint of her cheeks, revealing that she had in fact heard him.

The boys probably responded with some teasing remark, and continued laughing at him, but Mike heard none of it. He kept his eyes fixed on El across the room, who eventually turned towards him, giving him a shy smile that would have made him blush if it was even humanly possible for him to blush anymore than he already was.

Eventually the topic changed, and the kiss was seemingly forgotten by Lucas, Will, and Dustin. They started a new campaign, and the boys got wrapped up in the story of their characters slaying monsters.

When Karen called down the stairs a few hours later that Hopper was waiting outside to pick El up, Mike saw his chance. He excused himself from the game, with a load of whistling behind him as he ran up the stairs after El.

El apparently saw him come after her, because when Mike got to the top of the basement steps, she was standing right next to the door waiting for him. Her hands were fiddling with the edge of her shirt, looking towards the floor.

“Hey.” Mike gulped upon seeing her, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks.

El simply smiled in response, and Mike felt his hands begin to shake as he continued, “I’m, uh, I’m really sorry I never said anything earlier. It's just the boys were coming down and I was so shocked and I didn't have a chance to do something. I don't want you to think I was ignoring you or anything.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

She met his eyes, her pulse racing, all the rejection she'd been facing all day tumbling out, and she let herself be vulnerable for a moment, “You didn't hate it?” 

“What? Of course not!” The room suddenly felt like 100 degrees, Mike could feel his palms sweating, “I liked it. I liked it a lot.”

The two looked towards each other, and Mike really wanted to kiss her again. No sounds could be heard other than the boys talking downstairs, or his dad snoring in the other room, but Mike could barely focus on anything other than how strong he could feel his heart beating and how beautiful El looked and how much he wanted to be closer to her.

“Mike?” She snapped him out of his thoughts. Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, her cheeks illuminated pink as she continued, “What were they talking about earlier with the red and purple?”

If Mike’s heart was beating quickly before, it was nothing compared to after he heard El ask that question, “Oh, well, uh, I guess the guys were saying that we kissed earlier, and then they could see red on my lips and purple on yours that neither of us could see, so…” He didn't want to say the word. That one heavy word that felt like a weight in the back of his throat. Mike thought if he tried to say it, it would pull him down and choke him while he tried to spit it out.

“So we’re soulmates?” 

And the word was out there, drifting through the air freely. They couldn't hide from it anymore. 

Mike reached out to grab her hands, hoping she could steady his so they wouldn't shake so much, “I guess so.” He beamed at her, and when he saw Eleven grin back, Mike knew he'd love to see her smile like that every day for the rest of his life. 

She started to lean in, and this time Mike was prepared. He met her lips halfway, and smiled into the kiss, the rest of the world falling away because he was _kissing El_ , he was _kissing his soulmate._

When they pulled away, though Mike couldn't see it, he took pride in the fact that right then, her lips must be a little brighter purple.


End file.
